Staff

Lloyd Athearn, Executive Director

Executive Director of Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
Lloyd joined CFI in 2009 following three years serving as deputy director of the Colorado Conservation Trust, where he oversaw the organization’s development, communications, finance, and administration functions. Prior to that, he spent 10 years as deputy director of the American Alpine Club managing media relations, public policy, publishing, development, and membership marketing. His mountain conservation work has been recognized by the National Park Service and the American Alpine Club. Lloyd brings extensive experience collaborating with land managers across the country to protect alpine terrain and preserve the wilderness climbing experience. He has a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from the University of Oregon and has taken graduate coursework in Wilderness Management from the University of Montana.

Hannah Clark, Operations Manager

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative's Volunteer Coordinator

Hannah joined the CFI staff in 2018. Prior to that she served as the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps Peak Apprentice on the Mount Elbert project in 2017.  She has also worked on trail building projects and natural-resource management with Northwest Youth Corps in Oregon.  Professionally, Hannah has worked as an environmental analyst, natural resource steward, and lab technician for organizations and agencies in California and Oregon. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master’s degree in environmental law and policy from Sturm College of Law at DU. Hannah brings a life-long passion for conservation education, hard work, and volunteerism to CFI.

Tom Cronin, Field Projects Manager

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative's Field Projects Training and Trails Coordinator

2022 marks Tom’s 14th consecutive season working in the realm of trails. After spending three years with the City of Boulder, Open Space and Mountain Parks he came on board with CFI in 2012. He went on to spend five seasons with CFI as a Project Manager leading projects on Holy Cross, Maroon Peak, El Diente, and Mount Eolus. In 2017, he then moved into the position of Sustainable Trails Coordinator. He analyzed over 29,000 trail features while conducting comprehensive assessments of trail conditions on thirty-three different 14ers over the course of his next two seasons. In 2019, he moved into his current role as Field Projects Manager. In this role Tom is assisting with the management and oversight of CFI’s seasonal staff and projects as well as working with USFS Fourteeners Program Manager on designing new trails. Tom immediately became enamored with trail work, specifically dry-set stonework and has pursued his passion ever since.

Parker Grimes, Field Projects Coordinator

Field Programs Manager for Colorado 14ers Initiative

2022 will be Parker’s 9th season working on trails and land management. He started his career in California with American Conservation Experience where he worked around the state for two years with a primary focus on backcountry trail construction. After ACE he spent four seasons working on a USFS trail crew in the Lake Tahoe Basin where his desire for rock work and felling trees grew. In 2020, Parker joined CFI as a Project Manager on Mount Elbert where he helped complete the South trail reroute and start construction on the Northeast reroute. In 2022, Parker moved into his new role as a Field Projects Coordinator where he helps manage seasonal staff and provides project oversight. Parker loves the physicality of trail and restoration work but the collaboration and creative problem solving has kept him around.

Ben Hanus, Field Programs Director

Field Programs Manager for Colorado 14ers Initiative
Ben joined CFI’s permanent staff in 2012, having worked with the program in a seasonal capacity since 2009. He worked two seasons on the Chicago Basin trail delineation project, then collected detailed GPS-based data on Fourteener trails during the 2011-2013 field seasons. Ben oversees all of CFI’s volunteer and crew-based field projects, in addition to continuing to advance the collection, analysis, and reporting of GPS-based trail conditions data on the Fourteener trail network. Ben holds a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. His background and field experience include high alpine trail design, construction, and restoration; crew leadership; GIS mapping and data collection; and spatial analysis.

Megan Poole, Controller

Megan joined CFI in 2022 after 5 years of public accounting in Louisville, Kentucky. Megan has always had a love for the outdoors, but her passion for environmental conservation strengthened when she volunteered for the U.S. Forest Service as a Wilderness Ranger at the Bridger-Teton National Forest during the summer of 2020. Megan has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a minor in International Studies from Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky and is a Certified Public Accountant. In her spare time, Megan enjoys hiking, biking, and climbing.

Brian Sargeant, Development and Communications Manager

Colorado 14ers Initiative's Development and Communications Coordinator

Brian joined CFI’s core staff in 2015 after working for three years in the outdoor industry. He interned with CFI in 2013 through Patagonia’s Environmental Internship Program. As the Development and Communications Manager, Brian develops and shares engaging content through social media platforms, email newsletters, and CFI’s website. He also plays a major role in CFI’s fundraising efforts – writing grants and reports to foundations, local governments, and corporations. Brian has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, a certficate of Internatioanl Business, and a minor in Spanish from Georgia State University in Atlanta. His passion for environmental conservation stems from his involvement in backpacking, cycling, trail running, and snowboarding.

Miriam Venman-Clay, Field Projects Manager

Colorado 14ers Initiative's Field Projects Coordinator

Miriam joined CFI in 2012 as a Project Manager working on the Maroon Bells reconstruction project. Over the past several years she has led projects on Mount Eolus and El Diente Peak, and become one of CFI’s most experienced leaders in technical rock work. In 2016, Miriam joined the permanent staff as Field Projects Coordinator. With more than a decade of experience working in the backcountry and teaching trail work, she is an integral part of the core staff – assisting with seasonal hiring, project oversight, and ensuring that CFI’s trail crew members perform to the highest standards. She loves the wilderness and feels a great urgency to help protect it through action and education. She likes working for CFI because the organization embodies her ideals and is taking action to save the sacred, endangered alpine ecosystem.

2023 Seasonal Staff

ADOPT-A-PEAK Marmot Crew (Left to Right): Nick, Jake, Carlie, Kim

ADOPT-A-PEAK Pika Crew (Left to Right): Jenna, Danny, Paul, Hannah

Mount Elbert – Blackcloud Crew (Left to Right): Jack, Heather

North Elbert Crew (Left to Right): Unagh, Parker, David, Ben, Sarah, McCae

Upper Shavano Crew (Front Row, Left to Right): Nicky, Ella, Mac, Jo | (Back Row, Left to Right): Griffin, Grace, Justin, Robert

Lower Shavano Crew (Left to Right): Sydnie, Jeremiah, Chris, Johnny, David, Keri